Stringed musical instrument and bow



Jan. 10, 1950 J. A. GRAYDON 2,493,812

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT AND BOW Fi led Jan. 4, 1947 INVEN TOR. JOHNA. GRAYDON ji /146M 71! A T TOPNE Y5.

?atented Jan. 10, 1950 STRINGED MUSIC AND B AL INSTRUMENT John A.GraydomHawthorne, N. J. Application January 4, 1947, Serial No.'720,213

This invention relates to stringed musical instruments, and moreparticularly to such instruments of the viol class including the bow forplayin same.

Stringed musical instruments of the viol class are normally providedwith four strings which are stretched over a resonance box and asuitable finger board to a head upon which the strings are secured bypegs. A bridge supports the strings upon the resonance box, the bridgeusually being arched in a well known manner which disposes the stringsof the instrumentin such a way that a conventional bow may sound onlytwo of such strings simultaneously.

The acoustics of instrumentsof this class are extremely complex.Certainly, so far as the elementary principles which govern its actionare concerned, it follows sufliciently familiar laws. The differentnotes'of the scale are pro,- duced by vibrating strings difierin inweight and tension, and varying in length under the hand of the player.The vibration of the strings are conveyed through the bridge to theresonance box or body of the instrument, which fulfills the function ofa resonator in reinforcing the notes initiated by the strings. When weattempt to define the peculiarcharacter of the tone of the instrumentsof this family and the causes of such tone, the great range and varietyof said tone obtained in different instruments of'this type, the extentto which those qualities can be controlled by the bow of the player, andthe mode in which they are influenced by minute variations in almostevery component part of the instrument, we find ourselvesfacedby aseries of problems which so far have defied anything but a partialsolution. We know, of course, that the character of the tone is afunction, among many other things, of the range'of action of the bow inproducing certain chords. A very um. ited range has in the past beenimposed by the peculiar structure of the conventional viol typeinstrument and bow. However, Ihave discovered a novel structure whichincreases the range of action of the bow for this type of instrumentwhereby any desired combination of strings may be sounded simultaneouslyand thus whereby chords and tones may be produced which heretofore havebeen impossible.

Various further and more specfic features and advantages of theinvention will clearly appear from the detailed description given belowtaken in connection with the accompanying drawings Claims. (Cl. 84-274)ment for carrying out the invention. The latter consists of such novelcombination of features as maybe shown and described inconnection withthe device herein disclosed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a novel violin and bow illustratingone embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view partly in section and with parts broken awayillustrating the novel Violin bow in cooperation with a novel violinembodying the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a partial side view partly in section taken on line 3-3 ofFig. l;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken online 4--4 of Fig. 1;

" Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is a view taken. on line 6-6 of Fig. 3 illustrating retainingmeans for holding the novel violin'bow in slidable relation to theviolin.

The invention disclosed herein comprises in general means for playingsimultaneously and selectively one or more of the strings of aninstrument of the viol class such as a violin. The means foraccomplishing this comprises, in the form shown, a slanted or inclinedbridge upon thev violin for supporting the strings wherein one stringmay be held at the peak of the bridge and the remaining strings aresituated at intervals down the sloping surface thereof. The strings thusare situated, at the bridge, at differing distances from the resonancebox of the instrument and are'jdisposed for engagement with individualsubsidiary bows, one for each string. A novel bow is provided which isconstituted by a plurality of said subsidiary bows. The number of thelatter is similar to the number of strings upon theinstrument, eachsubsidiary bow having a string corresponding thereto which is to besounded thereby. The shafts of each of the subsidiary bows may be heldin a predetermined position relative to the string corresponding theretoby means, for example, of a which form a part of this specification andillus-,

irate, by way of example, a preferred'arrangerack or support memberwhich adapts said shaft for sliding movement. at the proper spacedrelationship to each corresponding string. Each subsidiary bow is heldout of engagement with its corresponding string by suitable resilientmeans. Manually or digitally operable means such as finger keys areprovided, one for each subsidiary bow, by which each bow may beangularly shifted selectively to engage the corresponding stringthereof, I

Referring to the drawings in further detail,

the novel musical device is constituted by, for example, a stringedinstrument II) which, as above mentioned, preferably is of the violfamily, and in the form shown is similar to a conventional violin withcertain exceptions to be set forth below. A novel bow II is employed forsounding the strings in a manner also to appear below.

The stringed instrument I is constituted by a. resonance box I2 having aneck I3 and a peg box I4, all of which may be of conventional violinconstruction.

The violin I0 is I6, I! and I8 which may be tuned in a normal manner,for example, to g, d, a and e". The strings may have a conventionalrange from g to CI!!! In order to position the strings I5, I6, I! and I8in such a manner that they may be properly located for cooperation withthe novel bow II, a novel bridge structure is provided which comprises aslanted or inclined bridge I9 which is adapted for holding the stringsat differing distances from the resonance box I2, for example, wherebyone of said strings, as I5, is held at the peak of the bridge and theremaining strings, I6, I1 and I 8 are situated at intervals down thesloping or inclined surface thereof. It is desirable that the spacingbetween the strings at the bridge I 9 be uniform.

With the strings of the violin situated as above described, they arelocated at proper levels whereby each may be engaged and sounded by anindividual or a subsidiary bow in a manner to appear more fullyhereinafter.

The multi-part bow II is constructed and arranged whereby eachsubsidiary bow maysound one of the above mentioned strings. As shown inparticular in Fig. 2, the multi-part bow II is preferably constituted bya plurality of subsidiary bows Ila, Ilb, Ho and H11. These bows aresuperposed relative to one another by means of, for example, a U-shapedbracket member 20 which provides, by means of vertical arms 20a, 20bthereof a double bearing surface for each of said subsidiary bows. Themember 20 preferably is situated at the base of the bow, that is, at theportion which is to be grasped by the hand of the musician. Each of thesubsidiary bows I la to I Id is constituted by a rigid stick or shaftmember which preferably is of oval or elliptical cross section alongthat portion of the length thereof which is adjacent to the hair orsounding memher. The sticks or shaft members of the subsidiary bows aredesignated respectivly 2 I, 22, 23 and 24 (Fig. 2). The respective hairstrands or string-sounding members for the subsidiary bows are indicatedat 25, 26, 21 and 28 respectively. Each hair strand of each subsidiarybow is stretched between a suitable head and a hair strand holderpreferably in such a manner that provided with four strings I5,

thereof in order to move each of the hair strands thereon from anormally inactive position into engagement with the string whichcorresponds thereto whereby the latter may be sounded. Each of thesubsidiary bows normally is maintained in an inactive position against alimit stop by suitable resilient means. In the form shown, for example,the bow IId is provided with a limit stop 33 which preferably isconstituted by a suitable collar (Fig. 2) having a small finger thereonas at 3311. The latter may be adapted for contacting a limit, such asthe next adjacent shaft member 23, whereby angular motion of the shaft24 of bow Ild may be arrested. Suitable yielding or resilient means maybe provided for urging the limit stop 33 against its limit, i. e., thenext adja cent stick comprising, for example, a coil spring 34 which maysurround the shaft 24 adjacent one of the vertical arms such as 201) ofthe U-shaped member 20. Analogous limit stops are provided for the bowsI la, I Ib and I I0 respectively as at 35, 36 and 31. Also, analogousresilient means for said bows Ila, IIb and He may be provided asindicated at 31, 38 and 39.

The distinctive quality of the musical tones of the instruments of theviol class, and in particular of the violin, is generally admitted to bedue largely to its richness in the upper harmonic or partial tonesuperimposed on the fundamental notes produced by the simple vibrationsof the strings. The characteristic tone and its control by the playerare undoubtedly conditioned in the first place by the peculiar responseof the vibrating strings of the action of the rosined bow. This takesthe form not of a symmetrical oscillation but of a succession ofalternating bound and free movements, as the string adheres to the bowaccording to the pressure applied and, releasing itself by itselasticity, rebounds. Control of the pressure applied to each string isaccomplished by the fingers which act against the ten-- sion upon eachof the subsidiary hair strands, and also against the resilient membersor coil springs 34, 31, 38 and 39.

Suitable means are provided for selectively engaging any one or more ofthe subsidiary bows with its corresponding string comprising in the formshown digitally operable members or finger keys which are attached torespective of the angularly shiftable subsidiary bows. Each of thesticks or shaft members 2|, 22, 23 and 24 is prothe plane of the hairstrand is substantially parallel with the major axis of the oval crosssection of the respective stick or shaft member thereof. This isillustrated in Fig. 3 wherein the plane of each of the hair strands ishorizontal and said major axis of the cross section of each subsidiarystick also is horizontal. The reason for this is to provide desiredstrength and flexibility to each of the subsidiary shafts or sticks,thus providing necessary tension to each of the subsidiary hair strands.Hair strand holders of each of the subsidiary bows I Ia, I Ib, I la andI Id are respectively indicated at 29, 30, 3I and-32.

Each of the subsidiary bows is adapted for being shifted angularly aboutthe longitudinal axis vided respectively with finger keys 40, M, 42 and43. Said keys are, of course, preferably situated at the handle or baseof the multi-part bow and, in the form shown, they are mounted betweenthe arms 20a and 20b of the U-shaped member 2%).

It will be seen that in view of the necessity for the player to operatesaid keys by his fingers, the manner of grasping the multi-part bow isconsiderably different from that of a conventional bow, and axial thrustto the multi-part bow must be imparted in a different way.

In the form shown, the thrust is communicated to the multi-part bowthrough the intermediary of the thumb of the player with the aid of athumb sleeve 44 which may be pivotally mounted to the U-shaped member20. The thumb sleeve is adapted for surrounding substantially all of thethumb of the player whereby an adequate thrust is communicable to thebow.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, there is no interconnection between thesubsidiary bows at the heads thereof. Preferably the onlyinterconnection between said subsidiary bows exists by virtue of theU-shaped member 20. This, of course is necessary because it would'beimpcssime to insert the heads of the bows in between the strings ofthe violin if some interconnection existed therebetween. Preferably, nointerconnection is formed between the subsidiary bows throughout thelengths thereof except as above mentioned.

Suitable means rnust be provided for sup orting the individualsubsidiary bows in an operative and slidable position relative to theircorresponding strings. In the embodimentshown, with particular referenceto Figs. 2 and 3, the means for sup porting the individual subsidiary.bows in slidable relationship to their corresponding string-,5, isconstituted by a rack member having a plurality of fingers equal innumber to the number of subsidiary bows. Such fingers are indicated .asat 6, ll, i8 and 49.

It is desirable for each of the subsidiary bows to be completelysurrounded by the respective supports therefor but. of course, adaptedfor sliding movement therethrough. The rack 45 and its fingers providesuch support, for example, in cooperation with a movable retainingfinger (Fig. 3) which is adapted for closing the mouth which is formedby the above identified fingers it-is. An upper finger 5! may be formedupon the rack for cooperating with the finger 46 and the retainingfinger :59 whereby the uppermost stick or shaft 2i also is surrounded.Thenext lower stick 22 is slidable between the fingers 46 The stick 23is slidable between the fingers ll and is and the stick 24 is slidablebetween fingers ii} and 19. The retaining finger 58 may be angularlyshifted away from the position as shown in Fig. 3 whereby the subsidiarybows may be disengaged from the rack. As shown in Fig. 6, the activeposition of the retaining finger is indicated in solid lines, and thedisengaged or inactive position is indicated in'brokcn lines. A manuallyoperable arm .52 may be provided for communicating an angular thrust tosaid retaining fingers whereby it may be shifted to its inactiveposition through the intermediary of a shaft 53 which may be hinged asat 54 and 55. Suitable resilient means such as coil spring 56 (Fig. 3)may be employed for urging the shaft 53 to a normal active positionwhereby the retaining finger is in the position shown in solid lines inFig. 6.

With reference to the finger board of the novel vioiin, it is desirablefor the peg box Hi to be of conventional design with .a so-called nutportion as at El. The latter constitutes a bearing surface for thestrings of the instrument and should be in a plane which is parallel tothat of the main body portion of the violin. That is, it is desirablefor the bearing surface or nut 51 to be substantially parallel to theplane which is formed by the upper surface of the resonance box I2. Asshown in Fig. 4, the plane of said nut 5! would be parallel with theupper surface of the neck l3 and is horizontal viewed in Fig. 1. In viewof the fact that the strings l5, l5, H and I8 are mounted upon thespecially shaped or inclined bridge l9, it is necessary to provide anovel finger board 58 therefor. It is desirable for the finger board tobe substantially at a uniform distance from each of the strings at theareas thereof which are immediately beneath each of said strings. Thesurface which is defined by the strings stretched between nut 51 andbridge 19 is not a plane surface but rather is substantially a twistedor somewhat helical surface. Consequently, the finger board 58preferably should be of a corresponding shape with the area of thefinger board directly beneath each of the strings being substantiallyat,a uniform distance from each .of said strings point the head .orupperextremity of the multipart jbow may be associated with the rack 45 asshown in .Fig. 3. After the bow has been so positioned, the retainingfinger 50 may be shifted :angularly back to its initial position whereit will be interposed between the shafts of the subsidiary bows and therespective hair strands thereof.

By operating the finger keys 4t lt any one .or combination of thestrings i5l'8 may be sounded when the box is shifted axially.

It is, of course, possible instead of employing a rack as indicated inparticular in Fig. 3 to em-. ploy analogous support means, for example,which may be associated, for example, with the bridge [9. The rack 45preferably is secured to the finger board 58, for example, by means ofan arm 45a which extends axially of the violin and which may be attachedto said finger board as by suitable screws.

While the invention has been described with respect to a preferredexample which has given satisfactory results, it will be understood bythose skilled in the art after understanding the invention that various.changes and modifications may :be made without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention, and. it is intended.- therefore, in theappended claims, to cover all such changes andmodifications.

What is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patentis:

1. Ina violin having a sounding box, an inclined bridge, the strings ofsaid violin being held thereon in spaced relationship at differentlevels relative to the sounding box, a multi-part bow having. aplurality of subsidiary bows each being adapted for sounding acorresponding string of the violin, and a like plurality of supportmembers mounted adjacent said bridge for supporting correspond ing ofsaid subsidiary bows at levels adjacent the strings correspondingthereto.

2. In an instrument of the Viol class having a plurality of stringsstretched over a resonance box, means mounted upon the box for holdingsuccessive of said strings at successively greater distances from thebox, a multi-part bow comprising a like plurality of subsidiary bowseach adapted for sounding corresponding of said strings, and a likeplurality of support members mounted on the box for holdingcorresponding of said subsidiary bows at levels adjacent correspondingof said strings.

3. In a musical instrument of the class described having'a plurality ofstrings, a bracket member having a like plurality of retaining fingersmounted upon said instrument, and a multipart bow having a likeplurality of subsidiary bows adapted for operatively engagingcorrespending of said strings, said subsidiary bows being held bycorresponding of said retaining fingers.

4. In a musical instrument having a resonance box and a plurality ofstrings adapted to be sounded by sounding members, a bridge for holdinsaid strings each at a diiferent distance from the box, a multi-partsounding member comp-rising a like plurality of subsidiary soundingmembers for sounding corresponding of said strings, and means forsupporting corresponding of said subsidiary sounding members atcorrespondingly differing distances from the resonance box.

5. In a musical instrument having a resonance box and a plurality ofstrings adapted to be sounded by sounding members, a bridge for holdingsaid strings each at a different distance from the resonance box, amulti-part soundingmemloer comprising a like plurality of subsidiarysounding members, means for supporting each of said subsidiary membersfor sliding movement adjacent the corresponding string thereof, meansupon said multi-part sounding member for yieldingly urging each of saidsubsidiary members out of engagement with its corresponding string, anddigitally operable means upon said multi-part sounding member forselectively engaging each of said subsidiary members with itcorresponding string.

6. In a musical instrument having a plurality of strings stretched overa resonance box and a neck member, a bridge for holding said stringseach at a different distance from the resonance box, a nut having abearing surface substantially parallel to the plane of the box, a fingerboard upon said neck extending from said nut to a position adjacent saidbridge, the area of said board beneath each of the strings beingsubstantially at a uniform distance therefrom, a multi-part bowcomprising a like plurality of subsidiary bows for soundin correspondingof said strings, means upon said box for supporting corresponding ofsaid subsidiary bows for sliding movement at differing distancestherefrom corresponding to said distances of said strings therefrom.

7. In a bow for sounding the strings of a musical instrument, aplurality of subsidiary bows, a common support for said subsidiary bows,the latter being mounted for angular movement relative to said support,and a like plurality of digitally operable members for angularly movingcorresponding of said subsidiary bows, said members being operablesingly or in combination with any other such members.

8. A violin for use with a multi-part bow having a plurality ofsubsidiary bows, said violin having a sounding box, and a like pluralityof strings including in combination: an inclined bridge, the strings ofthe violin being held thereon in spaced relationship at difierent levelsrelative to the sounding box; the subsidiary bows each being adapted forsounding a corresponding string of said violin; and a like plurality ofsupport members mounted adjacent said bridge for supportingcorresponding of the subsidiary bows at levels adjacent the stringscorresponding thereto.

9. In an instrument of the violin class having a plurality of stringsstretched over a resonance box and adapted for use with a multi-part bowhaving a like plurality of subsidiary bows; a bridge mounted upon thebox for holding successive of said strings at successively greaterdistances from the box; the subsidiary bows each being constructed andarranged for selectively sounding corresponding of said strings; and alike plurality of support members mounted on the box for holdingcorresponding of the subsidiary bows at levels adjacent corresponding ofsaid strings.

10. In a bow for sounding the strings of a musical instrument, aplurality of subsidiary bows; a common support for said subsidiary bows,the latter bows being mounted for angular movement relative to saidsupport; and a like plurality of digitally operable members associatedwith corresponding of said subsidiary bows for selectively angular-1yshifting one or more thereof.

JOHN A. GRAYDON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 196,325 B arrenther Oct. 23, 18771,152,925 Bach Sept. 7, 1915 1,470,734 Helke Oct. 16, 1923 1,699,384Welch Jan. 15, 1929 1,699,469 Hennessy Jan. 15, 1929 1,918,084 ChaseJuly 11, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 243,442 Germany Feb.13, 1912 278,582 Germany July 20, 1923 456,051 France June 9, 1913

